Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

• From Preprints
• From Clinical Trials
• From PubMed
• From Patent Search

From Preprints

• Compliance with Covid-19 measures: evidence from New Zealand -

  Governments around the world are seeking to slow the spread of Covid-19 by implementing measures that encourage, or mandate, changes in people9s behaviour. These changes include the wearing of face masks, social distancing, and testing and self-isolating when unwell. The success of these measures depends on the commitment of individuals to change their behaviour accordingly. Understanding and predicting the motivation of individuals to change their behaviour is therefore critical in assessing the likely effectiveness of these measures in slowing the spread of the virus. In this paper we draw on a novel framework, the I3 Compliance Response Framework, to understand and predict the motivation of residents in Auckland, New Zealand, to comply with measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The Framework is based on two concepts. The first uses the involvement construct to predict the motivation of individuals to comply. The second separates the influence of the policy measure from the influence of the policy outcome on the motivation of individuals to comply. The Framework differentiates between the strength of individuals9 motivation and their beliefs about the advantages and disadvantages of policy outcomes and policy measures. We show this differentiation is useful in predicting an individual9s possible behavioural responses to a measure and how it assists government agencies to develop strategies to enhance compliance.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Compliance with Covid-19 measures: evidence from New Zealand
• Refining long-COVID by a prospective multimodal evaluation of patients with long-term symptoms related to SARS-CoV-2 infection -

  Background: COVID-19 long-haulers or long-COVID represent 10% of COVID-19 patients and remain understudied. Methods: In this prospective study, we recruited 30 consecutive patients seeking medical help for persistent symptoms (> 30 days) attributed to COVID-19. All reported a viral illness compatible with COVID-19. The patients underwent a multi-modal evaluation including clinical, psychological, virological, specific immunological assays and were followed longitudinally. Results The median age was 40 [interquartile range: 35-54] and 18 (60%) were female. After a median time of 152 [102-164] days after symptom onset, fever, cough and dyspnea were less frequently reported as compared with the initial presentation, but paresthesia and burning pain emerged in 18 (60%) and 13 (43%) patients, respectively. The clinical examination was unremarkable in all patients although the median fatigue and pain visual analogic scales were 7 [5-8] and 5 [2-6], respectively. Extensive biological studies were unremarkable, as were multiplex cytokine and ultra-sensitive interferon-a2 measurements. At this time, nasopharyngeal swab and stool RT-PCR were negative for all tested patients. Using SARS-CoV-2 serology and IFN-γ ELISPOT, we found evidence of a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in 50% (15/30) of patients, with objective evidence of lack or waning of immune response in two. Finally, psychiatric evaluation showed that 11 (36.7%), 13 (43.3%) and 9 (30%) patients had a positive screening for anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, respectively. Conclusions Half of patients seeking medical help for long-COVID lack SARS-CoV-2 immunity. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 immunity did not cluster clinically or biologically long haulers, who reported severe fatigue, altered quality of life, and exhibited psychological distress.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Refining long-COVID by a prospective multimodal evaluation of patients with long-term symptoms related to SARS-CoV-2 infection
• COLI-NET: Fully Automated COVID-19 Lung and Infection Pneumonia Lesion Detection and Segmentation from Chest CT Images -

  Background We present a deep learning (DL)-based automated whole lung and COVID-19 pneumonia infectious lesions (COLI-Net) detection and segmentation from chest CT images. Methods We prepared 2358 ( 347259, 2D slices) and 180 (17341, 2D slices) volumetric CT images along with their corresponding manual segmentation of lungs and lesions, respectively, in the framework of a multi-center/multi-scanner study. All images were cropped, resized and the intensity values clipped and normalized. A residual network (ResNet) with non-square Dice loss function built upon TensorFlow was employed. The accuracy of lung and COVID-19 lesions segmentation was evaluated on an external RT-PCR positive COVID-19 dataset (7333, 2D slices) collected at five different centers. To evaluate the segmentation performance, we calculated different quantitative metrics, including radiomic features. Results The mean Dice coefficients were 0.98&0.011 (95% CI, 0.98-0.99) and 0.91&0.038 (95% CI, 0.90-0.91) for lung and lesions segmentation, respectively. The mean relative Hounsfield unit differences were 0.03&0.84% (95% CI, -0.12-0.18) and -0.18&3.4% (95% CI, -0.8 - 0.44) for the lung and lesions, respectively. The relative volume difference for lung and lesions were 0.38&1.2% (95% CI, 0.16-0.59) and 0.81&6.6% (95% CI, -0.39-2), respectively. Most radiomic features had a mean relative error less than 5% with the highest mean relative error achieved for the lung for the Range first-order feature (-6.95%) and least axis length shape feature (8.68%) for lesions. Conclusion We set out to develop an automated deep learning-guided three-dimensional whole lung and infected regions segmentation in COVID-19 patients in order to develop fast, consistent, robust and human error immune framework for lung and pneumonia lesion detection and quantification. Keywords: X-ray CT, COVID-19, pneumonia, deep learning, segmentation.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: COLI-NET: Fully Automated COVID-19 Lung and Infection Pneumonia Lesion Detection and Segmentation from Chest CT Images
• Social norms, social identities and the COVID-19 pandemic: Theory and recommendations -
  Sustained mass behaviour change is needed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, but many of the required changes run contrary to existing social norms (e.g., physical closeness with ingroup members). This paper explains how social norms and social identities are critical to explaining and changing public behaviour. Recommendations are presented for how to harness these social processes to maximise adherence to COVID-19 public health guidance. Specifically, we recommend that public health messages clearly define who the target group is, are framed as identity-affirming rather than identity-contradictory, include complementary injunctive and descriptive social norm information, are delivered by ingroup members and that support is provided to enable the public to perform the requested behaviours.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Social norms, social identities and the COVID-19 pandemic: Theory and recommendations
• Big Five traits, approach-avoidance motivation, concerns and adherence with COVID-19 prevention guidelines during peak of pandemics in Croatia -
  Without the vaccine, the only way to prevent the spread of coronavirus is following Covid-19 preventive guidelines such as keeping social distance, wearing masks and gloves, reducing mobility, etc. Success depends on how many individuals strictly follow the suggestions from epidemiologists. In this study, we examined who and why is adhering to the guidelines. A community sample of 500 participants fulfilled a short Big Five Inventory (BFI), Questionnaire of Approach and Avoidance Motivation (QAAM), and two scales constructed according to the Covid-19 epidemiological guidelines in Croatia. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis indicate that agreeable and conscientious individuals are complying more with preventive measures. In addition, approach, not avoidance, motivation appears to be more important in following the guidelines. Results are discussed in terms of framing messages to explain goals that might be reached by compliant behaviour rather than emphasising the negative consequences of the pandemic. Emphasising negative consequences seems to produce negative emotional states with no beneficial changes on the behavioural level.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Big Five traits, approach-avoidance motivation, concerns and adherence with COVID-19 prevention guidelines during peak of pandemics in Croatia
• Efficacy of Pranayama in Preventing COVID-19 in Exposed Healthcare Professionals: A Randomized Controlled Trial -
  Background: The global outbreak of COVID-19 has created a challenging situation, especially among the frontline Health Care Professionals (HCPs), who are routinely exposed and thus at a relatively higher risk of infection. A few studies have shown the practice of Pranayama, a component of Yoga, to be effective in improving immune function and reducing infection. However, no clinical trial on the efficacy of Pranayama in preventing COVID-19 has been conducted. Aim & Objective: This randomized clinical trial assessed the effect of Pranayama in preventing COVID-19 infection in Health Care Professionals (HCPs) routinely exposed to COVID-19 cases. Methodology: The study was conducted at 5 different COVID-19 hospitals in New Delhi, India during September-November, 2020. 280 HCPs assigned duties with COVID-19 patients who were found negative in COVID-19 antibody test in pre-intervention assessment were recruited and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group practiced especially designed Pranayama modules twice a day (morning and evening) for 28 days under the supervision of Yoga instructors through online mode, while those in the control group were advised general fitness practices (like walking, jogging, running). Participants who became symptomatic underwent RTPCR / Point of Care Rapid Antigen test for confirmation of COVID 19 diagnosis. All the patients also underwent antibody testing for COVID-19 on 28th day of the intervention to detect asymptomatic infection. Results: 250 participants, comprising 123 in the intervention group and 127 in the control group, completed the study . The intervention and control groups had comparable demographics and baseline characteristics. Three participants (all controls) developed COVID 19 symptoms during the study. On the completion of the study, only one participant in the Intervention group tested positive, while 9 participants in the control group (Including three symptomatic participants) tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. This difference was statistically significant (P-value: 0.01). Conclusion: Practice of our especially designed Pranayama module, every day for 28 days was highly effective in preventing COVID-19 infection in exposed healthcare professionals (HCPs).
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Efficacy of Pranayama in Preventing COVID-19 in Exposed Healthcare Professionals: A Randomized Controlled Trial
• LRR protein RNH1 inhibits inflammasome activation through proteasome-mediated degradation of Caspase-1 and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients. -
  Inflammasomes are cytosolic innate immune sensors that, upon activation, induce caspase-1 mediated inflammation. Although inflammation is protective, uncontrolled excessive inflammation can cause inflammatory diseases and is also detrimental in COVID-19 infection. However, the underlying mechanisms that control inflammasome activation are incompletely understood. Here we report that the leucine rich repeat (LRR) protein Ribonuclease inhibitor (RNH1), which shares homology with LRRs of NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain (PYD)-containing (NLRP) proteins, attenuates inflammasome activation. Mechanistically, RNH1 decreased pro-IL1b expression and induced proteasome-mediated caspase-1 degradation. Corroborating this, mouse models of monosodium urate (MSU)-induced peritonitis and LPS-induced endotoxemia, which are dependent on caspase-1, respectively showed increased neutrophil infiltration and lethality in Rnh1-/- mice compared to WT mice. Further, RNH1 protein levels were negatively correlated with inflammation and disease severity in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. We propose that RNH1 is a new inflammasome regulator with relevance to COVID-19 severity.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: LRR protein RNH1 inhibits inflammasome activation through proteasome-mediated degradation of Caspase-1 and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
• Epitope profiling of coronavirus-binding antibodies using computational structural modelling -
  Identifying the epitope of an antibody is a key step in understanding its function and its potential as a therapeutic. It is well-established in the literature that sequence-based clonal clustering can identify antibodies with similar epitope complementarity. However, there is growing evidence that antibodies from markedly different lineages but with similar structures can engage the same epitope with near-identical binding modes. Here, we describe a novel computational method for epitope profiling based on structural modelling and clustering, and show how it can identify sequence-dissimilar antibodies that engage the same epitope. We start by searching for evidence of structural conservation across the latest solved SARS-CoV-2-binding antibody crystal structures. Despite the relatively small number of solved structures, we find numerous examples of sequence-diverse but structurally-similar coronavirus-binding antibodies engaging the same epitope. We therefore developed a high-throughput structural modeling and clustering method to identify functionally-similar antibodies across the set of thousands of coronavirus-binding antibody sequences in the Coronavirus Antibody Database (CoV-AbDab). In the resulting multiple-occupancy structural clusters, 92% bind to consistent domains based on CoV-AbDab metadata. Our approach functionally links antibodies with distinct genetic lineages, species origins, and coronavirus specificities. This indicates greater convergence exists in the immune responses to coronaviruses than would be suggested by sequence-based approaches. Our results show that applying structural analytics to large class-specific antibody databases will enable high confidence structure-function relationships to be drawn, yielding new opportunities to identify functional convergence hitherto missed by sequence-only analysis.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Epitope profiling of coronavirus-binding antibodies using computational structural modelling
• Interactions between SARS-CoV-2 N-protein and α-synuclein accelerate amyloid formation -
  First cases that point at a correlation between SARS-CoV-2 infections and the development of Parkinson’s disease have been reported. Currently it is unclear if there also is a direct causal link between these diseases. To obtain first insights into a possible molecular relation between viral infections and the aggregation of -synuclein protein into amyloid fibrils characteristic for Parkinson’s disease, we investigated the effect of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 proteins on synuclein aggregation. We show, in test tube experiments, that SARS-CoV-2 S-protein has no effect on -synuclein aggregation while SARS-CoV-2 N-protein considerably speeds up the aggregation process. We observe the formation of multi-protein complexes, and eventually amyloid fibrils. Microinjection of N-protein in SHSY-5Y cells disturbed the -synuclein proteostasis and increased cell death. Our results point toward direct interactions between the N-protein of SARS-CoV-2 and -synuclein as molecular basis for the observed coincidence between SARS-CoV-2 infections and Parkinsonism.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Interactions between SARS-CoV-2 N-protein and α-synuclein accelerate amyloid formation
• Impairment of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein maturation and fusion activity by the broad-spectrum anti-infective drug nitazoxanide -
  The emergence of the highly-pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019), has caused an unprecedented global health crisis, as well as societal and economic disruption. The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S), a surface-anchored trimeric class-I fusion glycoprotein essential for entry into host cells, represents a key target for developing vaccines and therapeutics capable of blocking virus invasion. The emergence of several SARS-CoV-2 spike variants that facilitate virus spread and may affect the efficacy of recently developed vaccines, creates great concern and highlights the importance of identifying antiviral drugs to reduce SARS-CoV-2-related morbidity and mortality. Nitazoxanide, a thiazolide originally developed as an antiprotozoal agent with recognized broad-spectrum antiviral activity in-vitro and in clinical studies, was recently shown to be effective against several coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Using biochemical and pseudovirus entry assays, we now demonstrate that nitazoxanide interferes with the SARS-CoV-2 spike biogenesis, hampering its maturation at an endoglycosidase H-sensitive stage, and hindering its fusion activity in human cells. Besides membrane fusion during virus entry, SARS-CoV-2 S-proteins in infected cells can also trigger receptor-dependent formation of syncytia, observed in-vitro and in COVID-19 patients tissues, facilitating viral dissemination between cells and possibly promoting immune evasion. Utilizing two different quantitative cell-cell fusion assays, we show that nitazoxanide is effective in inhibiting syncytia formation mediated by different SARS-CoV-2 spike variants in human lung, liver and intestinal cells. The results suggest that nitazoxanide may represent a useful tool in the fight against COVID-19 infections, inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication and preventing spike-mediated syncytia formation.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Impairment of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein maturation and fusion activity by the broad-spectrum anti-infective drug nitazoxanide
• Undergraduate student interest in healthcare career in the context of COVID-19 pandemic -
  Objectives: The healthcare profession has been long considered an excellent career choice. Pre-medical experience is documented to be important in shaping future medical landscape. In the wake of the pandemic, there has been intense media spotlight on the healthcare profession and change in academic environment, necessitating analyses of student experience. This project aims to assess change in undergraduate student interest in healthcare career using cross-sectional survey study. Methods: The project was approved by our Institutional Review Board. Voluntary survey collected data on demographics, socioeconomics, media exposure, academic environment, and change in interest in a healthcare profession. Survey was distributed through the university undergraduate pre-health listserv. Total of 297 responses were obtained. Descriptive statistics including Fisher exact test were applied in the analysis. Results: Majority of the respondents were Asians (54.9%), second generation immigrants (52.2%), and female (73.4%). Large proportion of the respondents were negatively affected by the pandemic, with losing a job or internship personally (42.1%) or a family member or a friend (62.6%). Students had mixed response to online learning environment, with 27.3% of students noting no change, 40.4% students noting increased difficulty, and 32.3% students noting decreased difficulty of classes. During the pandemic, 47.5% of students noted increased interest in pursuing healthcare career. The change in interest in healthcare career was not associated with demographics, economic hardship, or online learning environment. Discussion: Despite the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, students showed strong interest in pursuing healthcare careers.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Undergraduate student interest in healthcare career in the context of COVID-19 pandemic
• RESIC: A tool for comprehensive adenosine to inosine RNA Editing Site Identification and Classification -
  Adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing, the most prevalent type of RNA editing in metazoans, is carried out by adenosine deaminases (ADARs) in double-stranded RNA regions. Several computational approaches have been recently developed to identify A-to-I RNA editing sites from sequencing data, each addressing a particular issue. Here we present RESIC, an efficient pipeline that combines several approaches for the detection and classification of RNA editing sites. The pipeline can be used for all organisms and can use any number of RNA-sequencing datasets as input. RESIC provides 1. The detection of editing sites in both repetitive and non-repetitive genomic regions; 2. The identification of hyper-edited regions; 3. Optional exclusion of polymorphism sites to increase reliability, based on DNA, and ADAR-mutant RNA sequencing datasets, or SNP databases. We demonstrate the utility of RESIC by applying it to human, successfully overlapping and extending the list of known putative editing sites. We further tested changes in the patterns of A-to-I RNA editing, and RNA abundance of ADAR enzymes, following SARS-CoV-2 infection in human cell lines. Our results suggest that upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, compared to mock, the number of hyper editing sites is increased, and in agreement, the activity of ADAR1, which catalyzes hyper-editing, is enhanced. These results imply the involvement of A-to-I RNA editing in conceiving the unpredicted phenotype of COVID-19 disease. RESIC code is open-source and is easily extendable.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: RESIC: A tool for comprehensive adenosine to inosine RNA Editing Site Identification and Classification
• Expression of the ACE2 virus entry protein in the nervus terminalis suggests an alternative route for brain infection in COVID-19 -
  Previous studies suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may gain access to the brain by using a route along the olfactory nerve. However, there is a general consensus that the obligatory virus entry receptor, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), is not expressed in olfactory receptor neurons, and the timing of arrival of the virus in brain targets is inconsistent with a neuronal transfer along olfactory projections. We determined whether nervus terminalis neurons and their peripheral and central projections may provide an alternative route from the nose to the brain. Nervus terminalis neurons were double-labeled with antibodies against ACE2 and nervus terminalis markers in postnatal mice. We show that most nervus terminalis neurons with cell bodies in the region between the olfactory epithelium and the olfactory bulb express ACE2, and therefore may provide a direct route for the virus from the nasal epithelium and Bowman glands to brain targets, including the telencephalon and diencephalon.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Expression of the ACE2 virus entry protein in the nervus terminalis suggests an alternative route for brain infection in COVID-19
• An AI-guided invariant signature places MIS-C with Kawasaki disease in a continuum of host immune responses -
  A significant surge in cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C, also called Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome - PIMS) has been observed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. MIS-C shares many clinical features with Kawasaki disease (KD), although clinical course and outcomes are divergent. We analyzed whole blood RNA sequences, serum cytokines, and formalin fixed heart tissues from these patients using a computational toolbox of two gene signatures, i.e., the 166-gene viral pandemic (ViP) signature, and its 20-gene severe (s)ViP subset that were developed in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection and a 13-transcript signature previously demonstrated to be diagnostic for KD. Our analyses revealed that KD and MIS-C are on the same continuum of the host immune response as COVID-19 but diverge with two different cardiac phenotypes. The ViP signatures helped unravel the nature of the host immune response (IL15-centric) in MIS-C and KD, reveal unique targetable cytokine pathways in MIS-C, place MIS-C farther along in the spectrum in severity compared to KD and pinpoint key clinical (reduced cardiac function) and laboratory (thrombocytopenia and eosinopenia) parameters that can be useful to monitor severity.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: An AI-guided invariant signature places MIS-C with Kawasaki disease in a continuum of host immune responses
• Prediction and evolution of the molecular fitness of SARS-CoV-2 variants: Introducing SpikePro -
  The understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving the fitness of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its mutational evolution is still a critical issue. We built a simplified computational model, called SpikePro, to predict the SARS-CoV-2 fitness from the amino acid sequence and structure of the spike protein. It contains three contributions: the viral transmissibility predicted from the stability of the spike protein, the infectivity computed in terms of the affinity of the spike protein for the ACE2 receptor, and the ability of the virus to escape from the human immune response based on the binding affinity of the spike protein for a set of neutralizing antibodies. Our model reproduces well the available experimental, epidemiological and clinical data on the impact of variants on the biophysical characteristics of the virus. For example, it is able to identify circulating viral strains that, by increasing their fitness, recently became dominant at the population level. SpikePro is a useful instrument for the genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, since it predicts in a fast and accurate way the emergence of new viral strains and their dangerousness. It is freely available in the GitHub repository github.com/3BioCompBio/SpikeProSARS-CoV-2.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Prediction and evolution of the molecular fitness of SARS-CoV-2 variants: Introducing SpikePro

From Clinical Trials

• Rehabilitation for Patients With Persistent Symptoms Post COVID-19 - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Other: Concentrated rehabilitation for patients with persistent symptoms post COVID-19
  Sponsors:   Western Norway University of Applied Sciences;   Helse-Bergen HF
  Recruiting

• Efficacy, Immunogenicity and Safety of Inactivated ERUCOV-VAC Compared With Placebo in COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: ERUCOV-VAC 3 µg/0.5 ml Vaccine;   Biological: ERUCOV-VAC 6 µg/0.5 ml Vaccine;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Health Institutes of Turkey;   Erciyes University Scientific Research Projects Coordination
  Recruiting

• Efficacy and Safety of Three Different Doses of an Anti SARS-CoV-2 Hyperimmune Equine Serum in COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Biological: Anti SARS-CoV-2 equine hyperimmune serum;   Biological: placebo
  Sponsors:   Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social;   Universidad de Costa Rica;   Ministry of Health Costa Rica
  Not yet recruiting

• Viral Clearance, PK and Tolerability of Ensovibep in COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Drug: ensovibep
  Sponsor:   Molecular Partners AG
  Recruiting

• A Nurse-Community Health Worker-Family Partnership Model: Addressing Uptake of COVID-19 Testing and Control Measures - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Nurse-Community-Family Partnership Intervention
  Sponsor:   New York University
  Not yet recruiting

• The Effects of a Multi-factorial Rehabilitation Program for Healthcare Workers Suffering From Post-COVID-19 Fatigue Syndrome - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Other: Exercise
  Sponsor:   Medical University of Vienna
  Recruiting

• Safety and Immunogenicity of the Inactivated Koçak-19 Inaktif Adjuvanlı COVID-19 Vaccine Compared to Placebo - Condition:   COVID-19 Vaccine
  Interventions:   Biological: Koçak-19 Inaktif Adjuvanlı COVID-19 Vaccine 4 µg/0.5 ml Vaccine;   Biological: Koçak-19 Inaktif Adjuvanlı COVID-19 Vaccine 6 µg/0.5 ml Vaccine;   Biological: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Kocak Farma
  Recruiting

• A Dose Finding, Efficacy and Safety Study of Ensovibep (MP0420) in Ambulatory Adult Patients With Symptomatic COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: ensovibep;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Molecular Partners AG;   Novartis Pharmaceuticals;   Iqvia Pty Ltd;   Datamap;   SYNLAB Analytics & Services Switzerland AG;   Q2 Solutions
  Not yet recruiting

• Vitamin D, Omega-3, and Combination Vitamins B, C and Zinc Supplementation for the Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19 - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Dietary Supplement: Vitamin D;   Dietary Supplement: Omega DHA / EPA;   Dietary Supplement: Vitamin C, Vitamin B complex and Zinc Acetate
  Sponsors:   Hospital de la Soledad;   Microclinic International
  Recruiting

• Total-Body Parametric 18F-FDG PET of COVID-19 - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Device: uEXPLORER/mCT
  Sponsor:   University of California, Davis
  Recruiting

• Study on Sequential Immunization of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Ad5 Vector) and RBD-based Protein Subunit Vaccine - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: recombinant Ad5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine;   Biological: RBD-based protein subunit vaccine (ZF2001) against COVID-19;   Biological: trivalent split influenza vaccine
  Sponsor:   Jiangsu Province Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Not yet recruiting

• Respiratory Tele Monitoring COVID 19 (TMR COVID-19) - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Device: Radius PPG Tetherless Pulse Oximetry (Masimo);   Device: usual monitoring
  Sponsor:   Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille
  Recruiting

• Omega-3 Oil Use in COVID-19 Patients in Qatar - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Drug: Omega 3 fatty acid
  Sponsor:   Hamad Medical Corporation
  Recruiting

• Dual MRI for Cardiopulmonary COVID-19 Long Haulers - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Drug: Hyperpolarized 129Xenon gas
  Sponsor:   Bastiaan Driehuys
  Not yet recruiting

• Cetirizine and Famotidine for COVID-19 - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Drug: Cetirizine and Famotidine;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Emory University
  Not yet recruiting

From PubMed

• Structure-based phylogeny identifies Avoralstat as a TMPRSS2 inhibitor that prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice - Drugs targeting host proteins can act prophylactically to reduce viral burden early in disease and limit morbidity, even with antivirals and vaccination. Transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) is a human protease required for SARS-CoV-2 viral entry and may represent such a target. We hypothesized that drugs selected from proteins related by their tertiary structure, rather than their primary structure, were likely to interact with TMPRSS2. We created a structure-based phylogenetic…

• Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Activity of Andrographis paniculata Extract and Its Major Component Andrographolide in Human Lung Epithelial Cells and Cytotoxicity Evaluation in Major Organ Cell Representatives - The coronaviruses disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has become a major health problem, affecting more than 50 million people with over one million deaths globally. Effective antivirals are still lacking. Here, we optimized a high-content imaging platform and the plaque assay for viral output study using the legitimate model of human lung epithelial cells, Calu-3, to determine the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of Andrographis paniculata extract and its major component,…

• Elucidation of the inhibitory activity of ivermectin with host nuclear importin alpha and several SARS-CoV-2 targets - Ivermectin (IVM) is an FDA-approved drug that has shown antiviral activity against a wide variety of viruses in recent years. IVM inhibits the formation of the importin-α/β1 heterodimeric complex responsible for the translocation and replication of various viral species proteins. Also, IVM hampers SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro; however, the molecular mechanism through which IVM inhibits SARS-CoV-2 is not well understood. Previous studies have explored the molecular mechanism through which IVM…

• In search of drugs to alleviate suppression of the host’s innate immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 using a molecular modeling approach - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and the novel SARS-CoV-2 evade the host innate immunity, and subsequently the adaptive immune response, employing one protease called Papain-like protease (PLpro). The PLpro and the 3CL main protease are responsible for the cleavage of the polyproteins encoded by the + sense RNA genome of the virus to produce several non-structured proteins (NSPs). However, the PLpro also performs…

• Reducing SARS-CoV-2 Pathological Protein Activity with Small Molecules - Coronaviruses are dangerous human and animal pathogens. The newly identified coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19 outbreak, which is a real threat to human health and life. The world has been struggling with this epidemic for about a year, yet there are still no targeted drugs and effective treatments are very limited. Due to the long process of developing new drugs, reposition of existing ones is one of the best ways to deal with an epidemic of emergency infectious…

• Third force in the treatment of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis - CONCLUSION: Remdesivir is useful in the treatment of COVID-19 especially the severe disease. However, it should be used with caution since all the adverse effects are not known. We recommend Remdesivir as an alternative/third-force in the treatment of severe and critical COVID-19.

• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Spike Protein Based Novel Epitopes Induce Potent Immune Responses in vivo and Inhibit Viral Replication in vitro - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) initiates infection by attachment of the surface-exposed spike glycoprotein to the host cell receptors. The spike glycoprotein (S) is a promising target for inducing immune responses and providing protection; thus the ongoing efforts for the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and therapeutic developments are mostly spiraling around S glycoprotein. The matured functional spike glycoprotein is presented on the virion surface as trimers, which contain…

• Identification of Plitidepsin as Potent Inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2-Induced Cytopathic Effect After a Drug Repurposing Screen - There is an urgent need to identify therapeutics for the treatment of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although different antivirals are given for the clinical management of SARS-CoV-2 infection, their efficacy is still under evaluation. Here, we have screened existing drugs approved for human use in a variety of diseases, to compare how they counteract SARS-CoV-2-induced cytopathic effect and viral replication in vitro. Among the potential 72 antivirals tested herein that were previously…

• Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) Seed a Candidate Protein Source with Potential for Combating SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Obesity - CONCLUSION:: Thus, TTI may contribute to combating two severe overlapping problems with high cost and social complex implications, obesity and COVID-19.

• Reviving chloroquine for anti-SARS-CoV-2 treatment with cucurbit[7]uril-based supramolecular formulation - The wide-spreading SARS-CoV-2 virus has put the world into boiling water for more than a year, however pharmacological therapies to act effectively against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain elusive. Chloroquine (CQ), an antimalarial drug, was found to exhibit promising antiviral activity in vitro and in vivo at a high dosage, thus CQ was approved by the FDA for the emergency use authorization (EUA) in the fight against COVID-19 in the US, but later was revoked the EUA status due to the…

• The Identification of Novel Inhibitors of Human Angiotensin-converting Enzyme 2 and Main Protease of Sars-Cov-2: A Combination of in silico Methods for Treatment of COVID-19 - The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and main protease (MPro), are the putative drug candidates for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this study, we performed 3D-QSAR pharmacophore modeling and screened 1264479 ligands gathered from Pubchem and Zinc databases. Following the calculation of the ADMET properties, molecular docking was carried out. Moreover, the de novo ligand design was performed. MD simulation was then applied to survey the behavior of the…

• SMMPPI: a machine learning-based approach for prediction of modulators of protein-protein interactions and its application for identification of novel inhibitors for RBD:hACE2 interactions in SARS-CoV-2 - Small molecule modulators of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are being pursued as novel anticancer, antiviral and antimicrobial drug candidates. We have utilized a large data set of experimentally validated PPI modulators and developed machine learning classifiers for prediction of new small molecule modulators of PPI. Our analysis reveals that using random forest (RF) classifier, general PPI Modulators independent of PPI family can be predicted with ROC-AUC higher than 0.9, when training…

• Antiviral and anti-inflammatory therapies in COVID-19 - Összefoglaló. Az új típusú koronavírus-fertőzés (COVID-19) nagy terhet ró az egészségügyi ellátórendszerre és a társadalomra. A betegségnek három nagy szakasza van, melyek alapvetően meghatározzák a kezelést. Az I-IIA fázisban az antivirális, míg a IIB-III. fázisban a gyulladásgátló kezelés áll előtérben, melyhez intenzív terápiás, szupportív kezelés csatlakozik. A jelen ajánlás kizárólag a gyógyszeres kezelésre vonatkozik, és a rendelkezésre álló bizonyítékok alapján foglalja össze a terápiás…

• Coronavirus genomic nsp14-ExoN, structure, role, mechanism, and potential application as a drug target - The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), causing a global pandemic with devastating effects on healthcare and social-economic systems, has no special antiviral therapies available for human coronaviruses (CoVs). The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) possesses a non-structural protein (nsp14), with amino terminal domain coding for a proofreading exoribonuclease (ExoN) that is required for high-fidelity replication. The ability of CoVs during genome replication…

• Silencing of SARS-CoV-2 with modified siRNA-peptide dendrimer formulation - CONCLUSIONS: Thus, we developed a therapeutic strategy for COVID-19 based on inhalation of a modified siRNA-peptide dendrimer formulation. The developed medication is intended for inhalation treatmentof COVID-19 patients.

From Patent Search

• 5-(4-TERT-BUTOXY PHENYL)-3-(4N-OCTYLOXYPHENYL)-4,5-DIHYDROISOXAZOLE MOLECULE (C-I): A PROMISING DRUG FOR SARS-COV-2 (TARGET I) AND BLOOD CANCER (TARGET II) - The present invention relates to a method ofmolecular docking of crystalline compound (C-I) with SARS-COV 2 proteins and its repurposing with proteins of blood cancer, comprising the steps of ; employing an algorithmto carry molecular docking calculations of the crystalized compound (C-I); studying the compound computationally to understand the effect of binding groups with the atoms of the amino acids on at least four target proteins of SARS-COV 2; downloading the structure of the proteins; removing water molecules, co enzymes and inhibitors attached to the enzymes; drawing the structure using Chem Sketch software; converting the mol file into a PDB file; using crystalized compound (C-I) for comparative and drug repurposing with two other mutated proteins; docking compound into the groove of the proteins; saving format of docked molecules retrieved; and filtering and docking the best docked results. - link

• USING CLINICAL ONTOLOGIES TO BUILD KNOWLEDGE BASED CLINICAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) WITH THE ADOPTION OF TELECONFERENCING FOR THE PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRES/SATELLITE CLINICS OF ROYAL OMAN POLICE IN SULTANATE OF OMAN - - link

• Peptides and their use in diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection - - link

• A PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT OF COVID 19 POSITIVE PATIENTS - - link

• IN SILICO SCREENING OF ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL NATURAL COMPOUNDS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO DIRECTLY INHIBIT SARS COV 2 - IN SILICO SCREENING OF ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL NATURAL COMPOUNDS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO DIRECTLY INHIBIT SARS COV 2Insilico screening of antimycobacterial natural compounds with the potential to directly inhibit SARS COV2 relates to the composition for treating SARS-COV-2 comprising the composition is about 0.1 – 99% and other pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. The composition also treats treating SARS, Ebola, Hepatitis-B and Hepatitis–C comprising the composition is about 0.1 – 99% and other pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. - link

• Aronia-Mundspray -

  Anordnung zum Versprühen einer Substanz in die menschliche Mundhöhle und/oder in den Rachen oder zum Trinken, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Anordnung eine Flasche mit einer Substanz aufweist, die wenigstens Aroniasaft und eine Alkoholkomponente aufweist und einen Sprühkopf besitzt.

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• INTERFASE ANTIBACTERIANA Y VIRICIDA PARA VENTILACION MECANICA NO INVASIVA - - link

• 一种用于检测新型冠状病毒COVID-19的引物组及试剂盒 - 本发明涉及生物技术领域，特别是涉及一种用于检测冠状病毒的引物组及试剂盒，所述引物组包括以下中的一对或多对：外侧引物对：所述外侧引物对包括如SEQ ID NO:1所示的上游引物F3和如SEQ ID NO:2所示的下游引物B3；内侧引物对：所述内侧引物对包括如SEQ ID NO:3所示的上游引物FIP和如SEQ ID NO:4所示的下游引物BIP；环引物对：所述环引物对包括如SEQ ID NO:5所示的上游引物LF和如SEQ ID NO:6所示的下游引物LB。试剂盒包括所述引物组。本发明在一个管中整合了RT‑LAMP和CRISPR，能依据两次颜色变化检测病毒和各种靶标核酸。 - link

• 新冠病毒中和性抗体检测试剂盒 - 本发明提供一种新冠病毒中和性抗体检测试剂盒。所述试剂盒基于BAS‑HTRF技术，主要包含：生物素标记的hACE2、新冠病毒棘突蛋白RBD‑Tag1、能量供体Streptavidin‑Eu cryptate、能量受体MAb Anti‑Tag1‑d2和新冠病毒中和性抗体。本发明将BAS和HTRF两种技术相结合，用于筛选新型冠状病毒中和性抗体，3小时内即可实现筛选，且操作简单，无需经过多次洗板过程。BAS和HTRF联用大大提升了反应灵敏度，且两种体系都能最大限度地减少非特异的干扰，适用于血清样品的检测。该方法可实现高通量检测，对解决大批量样品的新冠病毒中和性抗体的检测具有重要意义。 - link

• Infektionsschutzmaske -

  Infektionsschutzmaske (1) zum Schutz vor Übertragung von Infektionskrankheiten mit einer Außen - und einer Innenseite (2,3) sowie Haltemitteln (5) zum Befestigen der Infektionsschutzmaske (1) am Kopf eines Maskenträgers, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass an der Infektionsschutzmaske (1) mindestens eine Testoberfläche (6) zum Nachweis von Auslösern einer Infektionskrankheit derart angeordnet ist, dass diese bei korrekt angelegter Infektionsschutzmaske (1) mit der Ausatemluft des Maskenträgers unmittelbar in Kontakt gelangt.

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